![\"\"](\"http:\/\/www.sailpandora.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/05\/5-4-13a-001.jpg\" "\\"OLYMPUS")
<\/a>![\"\"](\"http:\/\/www.sailpandora.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/05\/5-4-13a-003.jpg\" "\\"OLYMPUS")
<\/a>While an 800′ wide cut seems like plenty of space to aim for, there aren’t any markers or\u00a0buoys\u00a0to mark the rocky areas. \u00a0As is the case nearly everywhere in the Bahamas, rocks and shoals are not marked so you are expected to just see them through the clear water or see waves breaking over them. \u00a0Oh, that’s just so comforting. \u00a0Not!!! \u00a0 While this still makes my mouth dry, it’s not nearly as anxiety producing as it was a few months ago, when we first entered the Bahamas.<\/p>\nAs we went through the narrow cut and out into the ocean, we passed Whale Cut Cay. \u00a0This is where the waves, and they were pretty benign that day, really showed their stuff. \u00a0Again, these photos don’t do justice to the power of these waves. \u00a0I can only imagine what this series would look like in rough conditions. \u00a0We have not seen breaking waves like this in any other part of the Bahamas in a similar sea state.<\/p>\n
The wave began to break. These clouds certainly speak to the unsettled weather. \u00a0Really impressive. \u00a0 Notice how flat the water is, until the waves enter the shallows and break on the reefs. Here in Marsh Harbor the squally weather continued and last evening we had a really dramatic thunder storm. \u00a0Happily, we had made it back to Pandora from cocktails aboard this lovely catamaran from South Africa before it hit. \u00a0<\/a>Then the full wave hit. \u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<\/a>And\u00a0<\/span>receded. \u00a0<\/span><\/a>Yikes!!! \u00a0I’d hate to be stuck in that…<\/span>\u00a0 As you can imagine, putting in the way-point coordinates and staying on course is a GOOD IDEA!!!<\/span><\/p>\n<\/a>This guy, who ran aground on the reef, wasn’t so lucky. \u00a0I understand that this landing craft has been on the reef for some time. \u00a0I expect a fiberglass eggshell like Pandora would’t hold up for very long in the waves. \u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<\/a>Happily, no such fate for Pandora and her crew. \u00a0Ending up like that boat would certainly do harm to my cruising plans and, as our son Rob would say, “that would be a career limiting move Dad. \u00a0Stay away from the CLMs with Mom”. \u00a0Agreed, good idea. \u00a0Cream puffs don’t like to be shipwrecked.<\/p>\n<\/a>We had been invited by them and a couple off of another cat to talk about our trip down the ICW and the cruising areas of the Chesapeake and New England. \u00a0That’s a lot of territory to cover. \u00a0Interestingly, this cat was built in South Africa and the owner has sailed extensively. \u00a0 After sailing the east coast this year they will head to the Panama Canal and on to the South Pacific. \u00a0 We hope that they will keep a blog as it would be great fun to keep up with their\u00a0whereabouts in the coming years. \u00a0This is a big boat. \u00a0She’s nearly 50′ long and 25′ wide, twice as wide as Pandora. \u00a0 Their cockpit is more like a patio with several seating areas to choose from. \u00a0Stepping onto this boat is more like stepping on to a floating dock. \u00a0Really nice.\u00a0<\/a>The other couple, new to sailing and from Montana, of all places, were on the cat to the left in the photo below. \u00a0It has been fun to become more\u00a0acquainted\u00a0with cat sailing as they are \u00a0so different than\u00a0mono-hulls. \u00a0 \u00a0Sailing on one of these is sort of like sailing around in a condo with a great back deck. \u00a0And amazingly, as they don’t heel, you can leave everything out on the counters, including your knife rack.<\/p>\n